- By pursuing the protection of life and human dignity, the Italian development cooperation aims at establishing and strengthening relationships between peoples in order to support their economic and social development.
In August 2014, the Italian Parliament approved Law 125/2014, which replaces Law 49/1987 on Development Cooperation and reorganizes the actors, instruments, modes of action and standard principles of the Italian development cooperation system. To ensure policy coherence and coordination, the new law establishes the Inter-ministerial Committee for Development Cooperation, and provides for the adoption of a three-year policy document by the Government. Law 125/2014 defines also a new management structure, providing for the establishment of the Italian Development Cooperation Agency. The Agency has sufficient flexibility to adopt the most innovative cooperation strategies and tools.
The Offices abroad constitute the decentralized institutional network of the Agency and are located in those Countries that are most benefitting from the activities of the Italian development cooperation.
[Protocol of Action for the Security and Safety of Cooperation Operators]
In 2021, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), the Agency and the Networks of Civil Society Organizations AOI, CINI and LINK 2007 signed the “Protocol of Action for the Security and Safety of Cooperation Operators”. The Protocol is aimed at NGO/CSO operators engaged in development cooperation and humanitarian aid activities who are called upon to operate in areas, territories and countries characterised by different levels of security risk.
The Protocol consists of a first section that emphasises the signatory parties’ common commitment to disseminating a security and safety culture within CSOs and a second “operational” part (vademecum) indicating good practices and rules to inspire activity abroad.
